But the longevity, while notable, is deceptive: the strip foundered badly after the death of its creator, Harold Gray, in 1968, and while one of Gray’s successors righted the craft for two decades, Annie never again achieved the circulation or cultural status it enjoyed in Gray’s hands, proving yet again that a comic strip, uniquely the product of individual inspiration, usually cannot survive the death of its creator. The resilient redheaded teenager made her last appearance in the nation’s newspapers on Sunday, June 13, just two months shy of celebrating an 86-year run. She lived out the rest of her happy life with Ted there in those woods.On May 13, 2010, Tribune Media Services announced its intention to stop production and distribution of one of cartooning’s iconic creations, the newspaper comic strip Little Orphan Annie.
Orphan annie rescue full#
Little Orphan Annie Ledbetter was full of joy, happy to be alive, happy to be loved. A frisky, wiggly, joyful dog emerged from the fearful creature, just like that. Hugs and snuggles and food and water and campfire light and music. She was a lapdog for the rest of the night. We climbed in to sit with her while Dave drove the truck back to Ted’s house. Ted put his hands gently on her, and next thing you know, he had scooped her up and put her into the back of the truck. She gave herself over to what fate would bring. We gingerly approached, and soothingly talked to her. She sniffed, and then desperately started drinking. Ted and I watched from behind the truck as she warily approached the water. He put it on the ground outside the truck and sat just inside with the door open. He went to his truck, pulled out a big frisbee and poured in cool liquid from his water bottle. Cars were few and far between.ĭave finally got the bright idea to coax her with water. The wind blew gently through the tree tops. We gave her time and space and hung out in the back of the pickup truck and waited for her to get comfortable. We had nothing more pressing on this sunny day than to save this life. She would chase after us a few feet when we would retreat. You could see she was desperately in need of comfort.
She was panicked and terrified, and bared her teeth at us. For what? For who?ĭave pulled his truck over and he and Ted and I scrambled out of the car to approach the little black dog. Sitting on the side of the road. Waiting. We all kept our eye out for the little black dog. There was nothing save pine forest, or the occasional dilapidated shack or mobile home every half mile or so. We piled back into Dave’s white pickup truck and headed back to Ted’s house in Mooringsport. Ted was captivated by a head stone that had the name ‘Annie Ledbetter’ etched upon it. We spent some time in the grave yard at Shiloh Baptist Church, looking at the old headstones, including Lead Belly’s grave (a place we all visit several times a year) and noticing all the Ledbetter descendants in that yard. And so was the dog who came generations after her. The woman must have been loved in her lifetime. The headstone for Annie Ledbetter in Shiloh Baptist Church. We passed her in our truck on our way to visit Lead Belly’s grave, and agreed that were she still there on our way back, we would try to rescue her. We know she was abandoned because she was running back and forth along the road cut through the rolling piney woods, sticking close to shoulder, waiting and barking, and terrified. Little Orphan Annie Ledbetter, the Laughing Dog, was a medium sized solid black mutt who had been abandoned on the Blanchard Latex Road in rural Caddo Parish in northwest Louisiana. Dave, Ted and I finally remembered this fact about the day that we rescued Annie Ledbetter off the side of a country highway, because we recalled that the little pads of her paws were burned off by the heat of the asphalt. With Ted Lindsay, Katy Hobgood Ray, & David Ray Three friends reminisce about rescuing a dog off a highway on their pilgrimage to Lead Belly’s grave. I will try to find a picture of her and share it soon.
This is not Annie, but it looks like her.